Yep, they're compensating for something.

Unfortunately the government SHOULD have concluded that they are still a THIRD class nation, chained to preventing a third of their population from dying of AIDS.

They should let the U.S. and others spend taxpayer dollars on building new telescopes that arent needed.

That sort of reminds me of that Simpsons episode where Homer bought the crappy falling apart RV to get back at Flanders.

Unless that telescope can find those douchebags some food water and a cure for the hiv they need to be buying sacks of food for those little kids with flies in their nose on my tv late at night begging for food

Great, just what we need. More SALT.

Did we have an article a little while beak about how Texas A&M and the University of Texas were cooperating on a observatory so that the rest of the United States wouldn't see them as a second class state?

beak, back, it's all good

There is a seperate and much smaller telescope used for spotting black holes.

internetsecurityguard

that's the way to push the limit

Great, now the south african astronomers can segregate the white galaxies from the dark matter.


And, will they soon be sharing telescope technology with Israel like they did with their nuclear bomb technology?

So now there a second class country with a huge telescope.

Scientists and engineers inside are putting the finishing touches on a telescope so powerful that it will be able to spot a flicker of candlelight on the moon.

Waste of time. Any alien civilization advanced enough to have set up a base on our moon would not be using candles for lighting.

I'm sure the telescope view is great, if one can get there without being robbed or raped.

south africa... what a bunch of conformists

Galland

HILARIOUS!

Actually, it is for looking in the sky and it was built in South Africa because there is a good spot for telescopes there, which is important because there are few candidate sites worldwide and that number is being reduced by light pollution. It is not more common for internationally important telescopes to be built in backwaters than first world urban areas for obvious reasons.

South Africa really needs to get their act together. They tax goods such as computers because they're imported, but all it does is make them 2x more expensive than in the U.S., when they really need to be encouraging people to get them down there.

/been there

What the article fails to mention is the funding of the telescope, which is largely from Harvard, Rutgers and a group of U.S. universities...

Oh, 2× more expensive, *and* the buying power down there is much lower, so really, they're far out of reach of most people.

There's no other nation on earth with as much potential as South Africa. It is has the most beautiful scenery:



As well, there is a growing skilled workforce. However, there is a crime problem in the larger cities that needs to be brought under control, Giuliani-style.

Also, there are some really hot women there. If I could live anywhere else besides Canada, I'd be in Cape Town.

PokesBadgers...

i just spent about 2 weeks in Israel then 5 weeks backpacking in south africa before going to tanzania for 3 weeks... I guess I know how to pick 'em...

/that's an awesome pic rbaron...

This is somewhat bigger telescope with reasonable cost of €1.2 Billion.

I spent two months in and around Cape Town last year. It's a fantastic city.

I think the best thing we could do is to stop sending all aid there and let Africa sink.

http://www.kimdutoit.com/currentaffairs/LetAfricaind.htm

hmmm, reminds me of that movie The Dish that came out a few years ago. Big satellite dish in the middle of a sheep field in Australia, yet the only link to Neil Armstrong and Co. for 12 hours a day...

Now if only they'll stop making second class movies.

eddyatwork:

Easy for that writer to say. He/she doesn't live there anymore. It's not all that bad.

"WTF happened africa, you used to be so cool"

Africa still cool, you pay later

They're building it at night.



(Got nothing. DNRTFA)

I agree w/ Mr. Ping. We we started working in South africa they were classed as a developed country, last year the World Bank downgraded them to developing country status. With the main reason being the spread of AIDS.

Here's a ton of images for you.

eddyatwork

perhaps we can cut aid after we cut the debt like China has done.

1. American banks loan 3rd world countries money
2. Amerocan government gives them aid cause they can't cover loans
3. aid money goes to cover loans - Africa is a great place for US banks to get free money from the US government.

Let's start a fark-vigilante group and clean that place up. We can call ourselves the farkilantes. Ok, maybe not.

I just think of the ideas, not the cool names.

off topic but when Kerry wins he better fund my NASA!!!!

I'm going to miss her.

"Here, in the heart of the Roggeveld mountains ... The crisp, clear skies has made Sutherland the choice for Southern Africa's biggest Observatory."

South Africa to astronomers: Will sell climate for food.

Stop apartheid!

Wait, what?!

Give them a break, the current governmental incarnation of this country is only 8 years old. They have 4 centuries of colonialism, exploitation and poverty to live down. Building this telescope is a form of *income* generation. Wealthy countries will be leasing time on this telescope. SA may be a "second rate country" but not one city in the USA is as beautiful as Capetown.

whovian

Most Astronomers usually go to Peru or Hawaii - so this makes financial sence.

SA is the most beautiful country in the world, too many freakin vervet monkeys though.

Wrong again arched,they became developing again AFTER apartheid. Where would they be had the white euro's never set foot there? Do they even have fourth world?

/kill whitey

Actually , it was built so we can spot all the narrow minds in the world, as amply documented in the majority of posts above.

As for "second -rate" : go there. See it . Live it.

Otherwise, STFU.

World to SA: We'll treat you seriously when you administer enough beatings to this guy to make him stop singing like a retard:

I'm wondering if the location and/or geography of the country give it some advantages as a location for a ground based telescope.

Also, I've heard that satellite-mounted telescopes are making most ground-based telescopes obsolete. Anyone with knowledge of the subject care to share their opinions?

Fecal Pandora

The area the telescope is in is far removed from industry and climatically stable , resulting in very little atmospheric disturbance. the same considerations that weigh in in the US when chucking up observatories in the deserts there.

land based telescopes don't have any major disadvantages over satellite-based ones, and you don't need to spend billions sending up a space shuttle just to polish the lens !

I love when tourists lavish a country with praise because it is pretty and some of the cities have a good bar scene. It is definately a good vacation spot -- just like lots of countries with huge problems.

The point is not about the country having potential - it certainly does - it is about the government's ability to deal with the very real challenges it faces, especially HIV/AIDS. This article is only the slightest indication that the government does not have its priorities straight.

I personally could care less if the place is pretty. I don't like seeing people live in poverty and die of preventable causes. And I am pretty sure that SA is not going to be on the vanguard of astrology; if there was a business case for putting a telescope there it would have been done by a western institution.

Whoa - I just saw the post from FreddyCalhoun; I take back everything bad I said about the government relating specifically to the funding for the telescope. If they didnt pay for it, then good for them for attracting the funding.

MrPing

And that makes you 2 for 2.

Let's address the aid question you raised first.

Money being doled out to Africa to fight HIV/AIDS is a form of tied aid.Washington is insisting that the continent's governments purchase anti-AIDS drugs from the United States instead of buying cheaper generic products from South Africa, India or Brazil.

As a result, U.S. brand name drugs are costing up to 15,000 dollars a year compared with 350 dollars annually for generics.

As for AIDS itself, the problem is as much a political one as one based in lack of education.

And if you know a way to stop people from f*cking, go ahead , tell us, we'd love to know.

It's easier to stand and point from afar, than to look inward.Just remember that the political change which brought about freedom for all South Africans did nothing to change African traditional practices, and removed a lot of "guilt" protections put in place by the apartheid governments.

And I am pretty sure that SA is not going to be on the vanguard of astrology; if there was a business case for putting a telescope there it would have been done by a western institution.

Scientifically, SA has always been a leading nation.It's results were simply rarely recognised because the UN didn't like the government.

MrPing

and i didn't refresh. Damn dial up !
*grin*blush*

Sounds like DeBeers is looking to see if teh Moon has any diamonds so they can claim mining rights there as well. Greedy farkers!